


Of The Curious & The Restless

by Circus4APsycho8



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Fireflies, Fluff, Gen, Post Pacifist Route, they can't sleep
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2017-08-08
Packaged: 2018-12-12 17:13:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11741553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Circus4APsycho8/pseuds/Circus4APsycho8
Summary: Undyne and Frisk can't sleep, so this obviously calls for an epic adventure.Cross-posted on fanfiction.net





	Of The Curious & The Restless

Tiny specks of light shimmered across the black painted sky that loomed over the world, casting the land underneath it in shadow. A silver piece of the moon was the land's only source of illumination.

Frisk sat up in her bed, rubbing her sleepy eyes. She checked her alarm clock to find that it was only eleven o'clock at night. Sleep refused to come to Frisk, as she had gone to bed three hours ago, but something was keeping her awake. It was lingering in the back of her mind, in a place that Frisk couldn't quite reach or see. Lying in bed thinking about sleep and what was keeping her awake certainly wouldn't do any good, either.

Suddenly, her gaze shifted to her window. The wide field outside was lush with grass and blooming flowers, but what caught Frisk's attention were the soft, quick flashes of tiny yellow light that dotted the field occasionally. A grin tugged on her lips as an idea came to her suddenly. She hadn't done this since-what, fifth grade?-but still, she wanted to. It had been years, after all.

With a tired grunt, Frisk swung her legs around the side of her bed, her sock-covered feet hitting the hardwood floor. She stood, standing still for a moment to make sure she didn't get dizzy, then approached her dresser, which was on the opposite side of her bed. Carefully, she felt for the knob, her fingers sliding across the cold wood. When she found it, she pulled it open and grabbed a pair of dark sweatpants, and a fuzzy blue and purple jacket. She got dressed, then headed downstairs, careful to be quiet throughout the hallway, which was echoing everyone's snores. Frisk giggled, able to distinguish each one: Asgore's deep, rumbling ones, Sans' soft and lazy snores, Papyrus' soft "NYEH"s and Toriels's gentle snores. Everyone else was quiet. Frisk continued into the kitchen. She found what she needed in a cabinet. A glass jar with a metal cap, which she screwed on top of it. Maybe there was a kitchen knife around so she could poke a small hole or two in the top.

She almost dropped her jar when heavy thumps pounded down the hallway. They were too light to be Asgore or Toriel's, and too heavy to belong to Papyrus or Sans. Frisk searched for a hiding spot. If anyone knew she was up at this hour, she'd probably get in trouble. When the monster stepped into the kitchen, instead of the stern lecture Frisk had expected, she was met with wild red hair, a tired yellow eye, and dark blue scales that looked almost black in the darkness. The eyes widened when they saw her.

"Punk? What're you doing up?" Undyne aske, voice slightly laced with confusion.

Frisk inhaled sharply. Undyne would think this would be lame.

"I couldn't sleep." Frisk responded, shifting uncomfortably on her feet. The fish monster's gaze lowered to meet the jar.

"What were you planning on doing with that?" Undyne questioned, noting how much discomfort radiated off of the human.

"I was gonna go outside and catch fireflies. I saw a ton out there a few minutes ago."

"Fireflies?! That sounds awesome!" Undyne replied, her eyes lighting up with excitement.

Fireflies? What's so exciting about fireflies? Then, it occurred to Frisk that Undyne may not know what a firefly is, since she and the other monsters were locked Underground for so long. The thought saddened Frisk, but then she reminded herself that she had broken the Barrier a few months ago, and that the monsters were free now. She giggled at what Undyne was probably thinking about: giant, fire-breathing flies.

"Do you wanna come with me?" Frisk asked quietly.

A toothy grin crossed Undyne's face. "Yeah I do, punk! Do I need to bring anything?"

"No, but I could use some help poking holes in this." Frisk said, holding out the jar to Undyne, who eyed the smaller human curiously. The blue-scaled monster took the jar, and summoned an aqua-blue spear, which was whirring with magical energy practically begging to be released. Undone held out her hand, instructed Frisk to step back, then whipped her hand downward. The tip of the spear punctured a tiny hole in the top of the jar. She punctured three more tiny holes at Frisk's request, then handed the jar back to the human. Frisk thanked Undyne, then turned to a drawer, pulled it open, then found a flashlight. Frisk directed Undyne to the front door, and she obeyed groggily.

"So why are you up?" Frisk asked, flicking the flashlight on once the pair walked out of the kitchen and into the shadow-laced hallway that would lead the pair to the front door.

"Couldn't fall back asleep either." Her gaze studied the door in front of the two, her expression far away. Frisk decided that it would not be a good idea to push the topic further. Instead, she opened the door and held it open for Undyne, who responded with a quick 'thanks, punk' before stepping outside into the chilly, near-midnight air that bit at Frisk's skin. She pulled her jacket on, then studied Undyne while the fish monster looked around.

"Where will we find these fireflies?" She asked. Frisk grinned, then grabbed Undyne's hand and ran towards the open field.

Every few seconds, a dot of yellow light would appear and illuminate only a few centimeters around where it originated, and there seemed to be thousands of those tiny specks of light dotting the field and illuminating the field for the two. Pinpricks of gold fluttering around on the darkened field, dancing across the grass and settling in trees or flying in the air. The golden spots contrasted metallically with the silver slit of the moon.

Frisk turned to Undyne, and measured her reaction. Her face was one of pure shock and confusion; her eyes darting from each golden speck to another, trying to take too many things into account at once. Frisk giggled, then walked up to the nearest ball of yellow light, and cupped it in her hands.

"You can catch them?" Undyne asked, then glanced at Frisk's curled hands. It was so small, the little creature resting on the palm of Frisk's hand.

"Yeah, you can! They don't bite, and if you give them enough time," she held out her hand, then let the firefly crawl onto her thumb. It opened its wings, then flew away.

"Wow," Undyne said, "they're so small! Why do they light up like that?"

"It's a chemical reaction inside their bodies that allows them to light up. We call it bioluminescence. They light up to attract mates." Frisk smiled at the curiosity sprayed all over Undyne as she reached out and managed to get one to land on her blue finger. The bug crawled around on Undyne's finger a little bit before flying off again.

"They're so small. You know, they kind of remind me of echo flowers, but in bug form and yellow. And, of course, less magical."

Frisk nodded in agreement. She was about to say more, but Undyne beat her to it.

"Man, they're fragile and so small!" She attempted to catch another one, but it flew away from her.

"I know. You have to be gentle with them." Frisk caught another, this time placing it carefully into the jar she had brought, then screwed the lid on top. She glanced up at Undyne, who had an expression of pure horror on her face. Frisk shook her head. "We don't keep them in here for long. Just long enough so we can catch a few more, then see it light up in the dark. It's really cool."

Undyne suddenly looked relieved. "Okay. But...why do humans keep animals in cages? I saw some of that on TV. What're they called?"

"Are you talking about zoos?" Frisk asked, letting another firefly land on her fingertip, then slowly adding it to the jar.

"Yeah, that's what they're called."

"Some are in need of help, so humans try their best to give them a home. Some are endangered, which means close to being extinct, so we give them homes and try to protect them from threats. And, humans like animals, so they like going to the zoo and observing and learning about them."

"Oh. I see." She didn't sound like she understood. Frisk didn't like the fact animals were kept locked away from their natural habitat, either, even though she kept reminding herself that it was for a good cause. But Frisk got a feeling that wasn't what Undyne was referring to.

"Undyne, I'm so sorry-" Frisk started, tears welling up in her eyes. She had known the monsters for a while now, and the fact that thousands of monsters had been slaughtered mercilessly by humans long ago was still...unbelievable. She couldn't hurt a monster even if she tried. They were so nice, and welcoming, and willing to give anyone a second chance when they didn't deserve it. With all of the monster hate and the racism going around against monsters...Frisk blinked back tears.

Humanity was the root of all evil. Why did monsters even bother with being nice to humans?! It was their dang SOULs.

Humans suck.

"Punk, quit it. It's not your fault. Nothing that happened was your fault. It was out of your control. Heck, you weren't even alive yet!" Undyne exclaimed, and clenched a fist. "Quit blaming yourself. You are our savior. You freed us from the cursed mountain. You gave us human rights in the time span of a few months. Do you know how much you mean to us? You're amazing! Don't ever think otherwise. Ya hear me, punk?"

Frisk gave a sad smile. "Thanks, Undyne."

The Royal Guard Captain nodded. "You earned it. Now open the jar, I caught another one." Frisk complied. She could tell Undyne was trying to be gentle with the firefly, but was having a hard time. Frisk gently poked the firefly, and it fell a few centimeters into the jar. She screwed on the lid. Now, there were about six fireflies in the jar.

"I think we have enough. Do you wanna go back inside now? Once we watch them light up a few times, we can let them go." Frisk said, making sure that the lid was on tight.

"Only if we can make hot chocolate, too." Undone replied with a mischievous smirk.

"Sounds good. Let's do it!' Frisk said, and the two ran back inside.

...

The pair found themselves curled up on the balcony with a blanket covering both of them and mugs of hot cocoa in their hands. They sipped their respective mugs, both of them studying the jar intently. A few moments later, two of the fireflies lit up, then the rest responded with a brilliant yellow light.

Undyne suppressed a giggle. "That's so cool!"

"I know, right?" Frisk thought for a moment. "Did you know that fireflies are also called lightning bugs?"

"Really? Why? Well, I guess that makes more sense than firefly. I mean, when you first said firefly, I thought they used fire. But no!" Undone sighed in disappointment, but stiffened defensively as Frisk giggled. "But lightning bug suits this creature much better. They kinda do look like lightning when they light up."

"They do. I think they're cute!" Frisk announced.

Undyne snickered. "They're nothin' compared to you, punk."

"I'm not cute!" Frisk said, raising her voice a little bit. "Alphys is cute!"

"You got me there." Undyne chuckled, then noticed that the lightning bugs were crawling on the underside of the lid.

"We should let them out now." Frisk sighed, then shook off her blanket and set her mug to the side. Undyne did also. Frisk picked up the jar, then handed it to Undyne, who took it hesitantly. "Will you do the honors?"

Undyne rolled her eyes, but smiled anyway and nodded. "Sure, punk." The two walked over to the side of the railing.

Undyne took one last glance at the jar, then glanced at Frisk, who nodded. She twisted the lid, then let the lightning bugs free. They flew out, all lighting up at random and soaring into the night. The pair watched the lightning bugs until they were out of sight.

"Heya, punk?"

"Mm?"

"...Thank you."

**Author's Note:**

> Constructive criticism encouraged and appreciated :D I hop you like it!


End file.
